Taiwan and the US are to hold their second economic partnership dialogue tomorrow to forge closer bilateral ties, the US Department of State said on Friday.
The department said in a statement that US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez would lead the US at the dialogue, known as the US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue.
The second round of the dialogue would be conducted under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US, the department said.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
“Our partnership is built on strong two-way trade and investment, people-to-people ties, and in common defense of freedom and shared democratic values,” the statement said.
Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said that as the dialogue would be conducted virtually, no Taiwanese delegation would be visiting Washington.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday that Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) and Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) would lead the Taiwanese delegation, with other foreign ministry officials also attending.
The dialogue would focus on a broad range of topics, such as the global supply chain, 5G connectivity, cybersecurity, and science and technology, it said.
The first round of the dialogue was held in Washington in November last year, with Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳政祺) leading a Taiwanese delegation to the US, while another team led by Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) joined from Taipei for virtual discussions.
The US team was led by then-US undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment Keith Krach.
TECRO said on Friday that tomorrow’s dialogue would be meaningful for the two sides to boost their economic cooperation as they aim to bolster their partnership amid an economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taiwan hopes the two sides will work more closely in areas that would benefit them both and help them facilitate prosperity, security and a good future for people from both sides, it added.
The dialogue is the highest-level mechanism for Taiwan-US economic exchanges and cooperation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
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